BCAA Awards $12,000 to Dry Grad Video Challenge Winners

Teens share sobering message with other teens - never drive impaired

BURNABY, BC, Jan. 15, 2014 /CNW/ - The British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA), in partnership with the BCAA Road Safety Foundation, is pleased to announce the three winning high schools of the BCAA Dry Grad Video Challenge. BCAA will award a total of $12,000 to the schools to help fund their dry grad celebrations, at which students have agreed that neither alcohol nor drugs will be tolerated.

Last September, BCAA called on grade 12 students from across B.C. and the Yukon to produce 90-second videos that encourage other teens to make responsible driving choices and never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Videos were viewed by a judging panel of post-secondary students and professionals in the fields of road and public safety, broadcasting, video production, and marketing.  The top five videos were placed online for public voting.

BCAA Dry Grad Video Challenge, winning schools:

• $6,000 Grand Prize - Hugh McRoberts Secondary, Richmond (second consecutive win)
  "It Was Just a Few": Voices of a psychologist and a teen discussing details about the teen's impaired driving accident are heard, while scenes from the horrible night flash onto the screen as the teen reflects on the regretful choices he made.
  
  
• $4,000 Prize - Whistler Secondary
  "Heads or Tails (Never gamble with your life)": A music video that cleverly shows increases in blood alcohol content levels of party goers and demonstrates the crucial role of a designated driver and importance of intervening when someone is about to drive impaired.
  
  
• $2,000 Prize - Abbotsford Christian School
  "This Is Our Future": From singing on stage to conducting a boardroom presentation, future lives achieved by a group of teens based on their choices are depicted, including the future life that could have been achieved by one of them, if not for making the poor choice to drive impaired.

"Sixteen to 25-year-olds account for the highest number of impaired drivers involved in crashes," says Niela Melanio, communication specialist at BCAA. "The goal of the contest is to get teens thinking and talking about the issue of impaired driving in a way that will change their driving behaviours for life and have them making responsible choices now, and for the rest of their adult years."

BCAA's Dry Grad Video Challenge experienced its highest voter participation rate this year with nearly 7,000 online votes being cast, a 72 per cent increase from last year. Collectively, the top five videos received over 26,000 'views' on YouTube, nearly doubled from last year. Visit bcaa.com/drygrad to watch the three winning videos.

To help improve road safety in B.C., BCAA has been supporting high schools which choose to host dry grad events for over 20 years with its BCAA Dry Grad program.

About BCAA
BCAA is one of the most trusted organizations in British Columbia, serving one in four B.C. households. With over 800,000 Members, BCAA provides an array of home, auto and travel insurance services, and is renowned for its legendary roadside assistance. J.D. Power has ranked BCAA "Highest In Customer Satisfaction among Home Insurance Providers in Western Canada" two years in a row (2012 and 2013) - details at jdpower.com. Now in its 108th year, BCAA has over $460 million in annual sales, 27 locations and over 900 employees. To learn more about BCAA's Community Impact Programs and the other benefits of BCAA Membership, visit bcaa.com.  

SOURCE: British Columbia Automobile Association

For further information, or to request an interview, please contact:

Niela Melanio, BCAA Communication Specialist
Office: 604-268-5342
Cell: 778-228-8859
Email: [email protected]